Eugenie Bouchard vs Zarina Diyas Preview – WTA Rome 2015 Round 2

Eugenie Bouchard will look to trek on in her turbulent 2015 season when she begins her campaign in Rome. The 21-year-old will begin her quest in Italy against a fellow 21-year-old in Zarina Diyas. The two have never faced each other in professional competition, which adds to the intrigue of this coming encounter.

In Madrid, the Canadian darling was part of a bizarre trend of seeds falling in the early stages of the tournament. Bouchard continued her disappointing trend with yet another first round loss, this time to Barbora Strycova. The Canadian was up 6-0 but still lost the match in baffling fashion, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Strycova.

She moved to 6-8 on the professional tour this season and is yet to emerge as a legitimate threat at any event this season.

That was not the only disturbing trend emerging from the Bouchard camp, as she was also a part of some controversy at the Fed Cup, where she refused to shake her opponent’s hand and went on to lose the match the following day.

“It’s nothing personal towards her, I just don’t believe in wishing my opponent good luck before the match,” Bouchard told Romanian media. “After we play [Saturday] I will shake her hand, no matter what happens.”

The Canadian will attempt to revere her fortunes when she comes up against Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas. She defeated Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets, 7-5, 6- to advance to her first meeting against Bouchard. She won 57% of her first service points and saved 7/10 break points to close out the match in one hour and 26 minutes.

This is the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour and could make for an interesting contest. Given that Bouchard is far from her best at the moment, it would not be surprising to see her give away another lead in the match and lose in bizarre fashion.

Prediction: Zarina Diyas in Three Sets

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